Simulator sickness when performing gaze shifts within a wide field of view optic flow environment: preliminary evidence for using virtual reality in vestibular rehabilitation

Hodges, Sparto, Whitney, Furman, Redfern

Description

Wide field of view virtual environments offer some unique features that may be beneficial for use in vestibular rehabilitation. For one, optic flow information extracted from the periphery may be critical for recalibrating the sensory processes used by people with vestibular disorders. However, wide FOV devices also have been found to result in greater simulator sickness. Before a wide FOV device can be used in a clinical setting, its safety must be demonstrated. Methods Symptoms of simulator sickness were recorded by 9 healthy adult subjects after they performed gaze shifting tasks to locate targets superimposed on an optic flow background. Subjects performed 8 trials of gaze shifting on each of the six separate visits. Results The incidence of symptoms of simulator sickness while subjects performed gaze shifts in an optic flow environment was lower than the average reported incidence for flight simulators. The incidence was greater during the first visit compared with subsequent visits. Furthermore, the incidence showed an increasing trend over the 8 trials. Conclusion The performance of head unrestrained gaze shifts in a wide FOV optic flow environment is tolerated well by healthy subjects. This finding provides rationale for testing these environments in people with vestibular disorders, and supports the concept of using wide FOV virtual reality for vestibular rehabilitation.

Sujets

• VR
• Balance
• Physical therapy
• Virtual reality
• Cave

Informations

• Publié par: biomed
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2004
• Nombre de lectures: 22
• Langue: English

Extrait

Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation

BioMedCentral

Open Access Research Simulator sickness when performing gaze shifts within a wide field of view optic flow environment: preliminary evidence for using virtual reality in vestibular rehabilitation 1,2,3 1,24 Patrick J Sparto*, Susan L Whitney, Larry F Hodges, 1,2,3 2,3 Joseph M Furmanand Mark S Redfern

1 2 Address: Departmentof Physical Therapy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,Department of Otolaryngology, University of 3 4 Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,Department of BioEngineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA andDepartment of Computer Science, University of North CarolinaCharlotte, Charlotte, NC, USA Email: Patrick J Sparto*  [e-mail]; Susan L Whitney  [e-mail]; Larry F Hodges  [e-mail]; Joseph M Furman  [e-mail]; Mark S Redfern  [e-mail] * Corresponding author

Published: 23 December 2004Received: 29 November 2004 Accepted: 23 December 2004 Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation2004,1:14 doi:10.1186/1743-0003-1-14 This article is available from: http://www.jneuroengrehab.com/content/1/1/14 © 2004 Sparto et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

VRbalancephysical therapyvirtual environmentCAVE

Abstract Background:Wide field of view virtual environments offer some unique features that may be beneficial for use in vestibular rehabilitation. For one, optic flow information extracted from the periphery may be critical for recalibrating the sensory processes used by people with vestibular disorders. However, wide FOV devices also have been found to result in greater simulator sickness. Before a wide FOV device can be used in a clinical setting, its safety must be demonstrated. Methods:Symptoms of simulator sickness were recorded by 9 healthy adult subjects after they performed gaze shifting tasks to locate targets superimposed on an optic flow background. Subjects performed 8 trials of gaze shifting on each of the six separate visits. Results:The incidence of symptoms of simulator sickness while subjects performed gaze shifts in an optic flow environment was lower than the average reported incidence for flight simulators. The incidence was greater during the first visit compared with subsequent visits. Furthermore, the incidence showed an increasing trend over the 8 trials. Conclusion:The performance of head unrestrained gaze shifts in a wide FOV optic flow environment is tolerated well by healthy subjects. This finding provides rationale for testing these environments in people with vestibular disorders, and supports the concept of using wide FOV virtual reality for vestibular rehabilitation.

Background One out of three elderly persons and more than one out of five working adults report dizziness[1,2]. There is a

growing body of literature that suggests that persons with dizziness due to vestibular disorders fall, regardless of age [3]. Falls in persons with vestibular disorders have

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